Latch for flexible gates.



W. K. VOORHEES.

LATCH FOB. FLEXIBLE GATES.

APPLICATION EILED APBHI'I, 1911.

Patented May 7, 1912.

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COLUMEIA PLANOGRAFH CO..WASHINUTON, D c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER K. VOORHEES, OF CEDAR FALLS, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, OF CEDAR FALLS, IOWA.

LATCH FOR FLEXIBLE GATES.

Specification bf Letters Patent.

Patented May *7, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER K. VOORHEES, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Cedar Falls, Blackhawk county,Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Latches for Flexible Gates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in latches for gates, and the object of my improvement is to provide an improved latch for a swinging gate, adapted especially for adjustment so that the latch will serve to detachably fasten the gate in different raised positions, when the construction of the gate is of the flexible type. This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafter described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a flexible farm-gate equipped with my improved fastening-means, the dotted lines representing the position of the gate when elevated. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation in detail, with parts broken away, of the improved latch and catch. Fig. 3 is an upper plan View, more enlarged, of the latch mechanism, with parts broken away to better disclose other parts. Fig. 4 is a front elevation on the same scale as Fig. 3, of the casing-body and bearings used to hold the latch members. Fig. 5 is a side elevation, on the same scale as Fig. 3, of said latch and its casing or bearing.

. Similar numerals ofreference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The numerals 20 and 21 represent head and tail posts respectively for a flexible farm gate. The gate is composed of a frame comprising the head and tail stiles 13 and 28 respectively, and cross-bars formed of tubular metal, 26 and 27, which are respectively swiveled to the tops and bottoms of said stiles by means of forked swivel-connections 24 and 29 at the top and 25 and 30 at the bottom of the stiles. Said stiles are further connected by flexible wires 34, connected to the head stile by loops 39, and adjustably secured to the tail stile by means of the hook-bolts 38. The tail stile 28 is supported by means of the hinges 31, secured to the tail post 21. The longitudinal wires 34 are connected by cross wires 35. Above and below the cross-bars 26 and 27 are losimilarly.

The numeral 1 designates a rod supported by the head post 20, and which inclines at a steep angle from the post toward the head stile 13. This rod 1 has parts extending away from said stile horizontally at 2 and 4 above and below, the parts 2 and 4 being threaded throughout their length to take securing and adjusting-nuts 22 and 3, and 23 and 5, respectively. The parts 2 and 4 are seated in orifices in said head post, and are movable therethrough in order to adjust the position of the part 1 with relation to said gate as desired, to take up any variation induced perhaps by variation in position of the post 20 caused by wire strain or other reasons. I have provided a catch adapted to detachably engage said rod 1 as follows. The numeral 11 designates a friction slide-block formed to fit over one side of the head stile 13 and slide thereover. The slide-block 11 is held in engagement with said head stile by means of a wire rod 10. The ends of the rod 10 are secured to the upper part of said tail stile 28, while its looped end is passed about the said slideblock and seated thereon in a manner about to be described. The wire 10 exercises sufficient tension upon the block 11 to keep it in a location on said head stile where it may have been placed, until the block has been displaced manually to another location. The effect of moving the slide-block 11 along the head stile 13 when the latter is at the same time raised or lowered, is to change the form of the gate, the swivel-connections between the cross-bars andthe stiles, permitting the change. In this way the gate may be raised, when desired, to a position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, thus permitting it to close the space between the head and tail posts, at the same time providing clearance underneath for piles of snow or or to allow of the passage of small animals.

The latch-members 6 are of like form but reversed with relation to each other, and are curved to simulate the doubled curves of a cows horn, the curve being outward and upward at first, starting from the horizontal alined parts of said latches which are movably seated to rock in bearings 14 separated by a partition 15 in said block 11 in its forward projection 9, the curves of said latches then changing to approach each other while preserving an oblique upward direction. This peculiar curvature of each latch serves an especial purpose to be mentioned later. The forward part of the projection 9 is closed by means of a cap 8 secured detachably thereto by means of a screw or bolt. The latches 6 may have each a projecting thumb-piece 7 extending sidewise, to render it easy to grasp the latch when the hand of the operator is incased in a mitten. The loop of the wire 10 engages said body 11 and is seated thereon in a transverse groove 18, also in the grooves 19 at the sides thereof.- The groove 19 on each side, as shown in the left-hand part of Fig. 4, has an upwardly and outwardly directed notch 16 in its upper edge placed opposite to the narrow projection 12 at the lower edge of the groove. When the wire loop 10 has been seated in said grooves 18 and 19, it may be locked in place by bending upwardly the projection 12 on each side, as shown in the right hand portion of said Fig. 4, and seating the end of said projection in the oblique notch 16, where the projection 17 holds the part 12 locked against the wire 10, preventing the exit or displacement'of the latter.

When the gate is adjusted in position to assume some such form as is indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the head stile 13 tends to recede from the head post 20, due to the shortening of the longitudinal form of the gate. My improved latch permits of the fastening of the gate to the catch 1 on the head post, notwithstanding such change of form in the gate and recession of the head-stile, by reason of the form of the catch 1, which by its inclination toward the head stile permits of the catch still being engaged by the latch-members 6, when the block 11 is moved up or down the head stile 13. The gate being open, when it is swung toward the head stile to close it, the adjacent latch member 6 contacts with the rod catch 1, and because of the peculiar oblique curvature of the member 6, it never engages the rod 1 at a right angle, and is therefore pushed up and passes over said rod, to then drop downward through the action of gravity behind the latter fastening the gate in place. To open the gate the member 6 may be raised by means of the thumb-piece 7 or merely struck by a light contact when it will rock and lift enough to clear the rod 1, and cannot bind in its bearing.

The inclined part of the rod 1 is made of sufficient length to permit of a maximum vertical adjustment of the gate, and thus in each position the latch will act on said catch to secure the gate.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: i

1. The combination with a flexible gate, and a support to which said gate is hinged, and a head post, of an inclined rod secured longitudinally to said post and directed toward said gate with its inclinaton from the post downwardly toward the gate, and a movable catch connected to said gate and adapted to detachably engage said rod in any up or down position of the gate, said catch comprising a bearing'body having horizontal alined bearing openings therein, rock-members seated in said hearings in alinement with their outer ends projecting each projecting end being curved obliquely upward, first outward and then inward to approach each other, and said projecting ends being adapted to rock upwardly to permit them to separately move to pass over and inclose said inclined rod in any vertical adjustment of said gate, when the gate is closed.

2. The combination with a. flexible gate composed of head and tail stiles, said stiles being connected at top and bottom by means of rods swiveled thereto, of a slide-body movable along said head stile, said slide having side wings with cross grooves, the upper edge of each groove being provided with an inwardly-inclined notch and said wings having a projection below each groove adapted to be bent toward said notch adj a cent thereto, connecting-means between the upper end of said tail stile and the said grooves, adapted to be secured in said grooves when said projections are bent upwardly and their ends fixed in the said notches.

Signed at WVaterloo, Iowa, this 30th day of March, 1911.

WALTER K. VOORHEES.

Witnesses:

L. F. Non, G. G. KENNEDY.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G. 

